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but you actually need to own a copy of some form of windows to run these.

these are windows virtual pc [1] images

Supported Operating Systems:Windows 7;Windows Server 2003;Windows Vista;Windows XP

[1] http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx

Sure, a single windows license isn't cost prohibitive. You can easily find them in the < $100 range on Newegg, SoftwareMedia, etc, not to mention the numerous promotions they run which can bring a license down to the $50 - $70 range. Someone else mentioned BizSpark, which can help defray even these minor costs. In either case you only need one license and then you can just remote into the machine and pick your VM whenever you want to QA.

Microsoft has a startup program called BizSpark that gives you access to nearly all of their software for free.

http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/

Overview of the software packages included http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/5/4/15454442-CF17-4...

I believe last time I checked it was $99 and you could use it for 3 years before having to upgrade.

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